Pallet for Home

Ohio has enjoyed a most beautiful abundant of snow. Sleds have seen more use in the last week with squeals of joy then we thought would be possible with the odd warmth had well into November. This year, The Captain purchased a few double inflatable sleds. Thanks in part to a previous Tailbone bruising occurring from our  inner child playing on the hills. We are not as young as we once were... 

The snow has also brought energetic joy to our Moose.  He flips & digs. Rolls and pounces with his 100 pound puppy body, retrieving his football & playing tag with me outback. I remove his leash for our romping and did not think twice the very morning one of our playful jokes became a reality. Moose is young and still learning self control in a few areas. With the mix of breeds in him, the instincts can be a bit over powering.

We had a decent 6 inches of snow on the ground in the more flat areas. Uneven ground seemed to provide more depth of snow banks. Almost topping my snow boots. As usual, I wore my Camo Coveralls, snow gloves and full face mask being the total woos I am in anything under 40 degrees {F}.

I removed his Leash & gentle leader collar, placing it onto a picket of my garden fencing. Moose went to the tree line, which is normal in his anticipation of our football play. But this time it was different. He was zig zagging where the tree's begin, normal to his picking up a scent. I thought rabbit in that few seconds before I saw him dart into the tree line.  Raising my eyes to the movement I saw ahead of him, a beautiful Buck with thick antlers rose & hopped out of the brush just 20 ft away. No need to insert the explicit instantaneous thought which popped into my mind.

The chase was on! I tried calling him back while trying to keep an eye on him & where the Buck was heading. Burdened with the weight of snow wear and the depth of ground coverage, my movements were slow. I quickly made way to the path clearing into the field just in time to see the Buck head up the back hill, towards the deep ravine. Moose was still in the brush, yet hot on his trail. There seemed to be no breaking of the zoned mind set in instinctual hunt.

 Moose has the coloring of White tail deer, complete with white tail underside. To an inexperienced or idiot eye, he very well could be mistaken for a smaller deer. And BOTH buck skins were heading towards the public hunting grounds! Once I made it to the hill & ravine side, I lost sight of the Buck but scanned the trees to see Moose had already made it to the other side. I lifted my fleece face covering, calling out his name, upon which he must have lost the scent track, wagging his tail in response to me, making his way back up to where I stood. Well, Almost that is...

He caught wind of that dang deer when he was close to my outstretched arms. Shooting off again before I could get to the opening in the old livestock fence.

I lost patience in that moment and doubt began to set in. I cried out his name, out of breath and sweating in my coveralls. I lowered the top half and tied the arms at my waist. My boots getting heavier & heavier with every dip & climb. The snow covered grapevines, wildly growing everywhere the eye can see, began to hamper my hunt even more so. Catching the toe of my boots, I stumbled & rolled down hills far more then I wish to recall. Becoming frustrated and full of worry, I began to cry. My face so hot from all the chasing & adrenaline rush, the tears did not even have a chance to feel cold. I could not see or hear him. The deer trails were such a mess, I could not see which split of path he had taken. I truly was at a cross road of decision. What if he chased that buck into the public Archery hunting grounds? His neon orange vest was not on, nor a collar. I joked about his one day chasing a deer through these woods but did not think I would find myself in the midst of winter snow chasing him down.

I continued on, determined to find him. I will NOT give up. I traced back towards the bottom of the ravine. Thinking I should make way towards the field and turn into the hunting grounds where he may double back.  Remembering in that moment, I was so worked up by calling his name, I had yet to whistle our special call. I looked around, positioning myself toward the hunting grounds, just high enough the sound should carry well despite the trees. Calming myself just enough to catch a good breath, I whistled our bird song. I waited. The only thing to hear were creaking of trees. No barks. No stomping. Nothing. With my back turned to the woods, facing to the side of the ravine, I let out one more loud whistling...and before finishing was plowed down by a massive MOOSE coming down a hill to greet his Momma. As my face fell into the snow with a thump of my body, I shot my hands out and grabbed that loose skin hanging from his neck. A trait from his Saint Bernard mother I am ever so thankful for. I rolled with his massive body until I had my back into the snow. Moose panting, licked my face with his excited greeting and looking rather satisfied from his big adventure.

 I found him! Or rather, HE found me. Holding onto his neck skin,we hit the field clearing and stumbled in a ground hog hole, hidden beneath the snow. I lost grip and fell again. Face first into the snow. I was beginning to feel a pattern here.Thankfully, Moose stayed close when I raised my head, completly exhausted and becoming a tad ticked off. I told him to get back to the house, NOW! regretting it after considering I should just letting him drag me through the field like a rag doll.

 And so my Moose did follow command, running his butt to the Garden yard. I found him paiently waiting by his ball, looking as though he were intent on some football romping. Not today Buddy. I think you've had enough fun for the both of us. I slipped his leash back on & he calmly walked backed to the house where everyone had no clue to what adventure we had just been on and laughed as I shared the story of our Moose chasing a Deer while I stumbled along in his trail.

Sweet snowy dreaming my Dears,

~Tammie

For a moment we were little again. Free and wild roaming the woods with not a care in the world. It was cold but not unbearable. It was wet but just a medium thick misting of rain flowed from above. Heavy drops coming down from where the water had accumulated on high branches. A comment was made on how it reminded me of the movie scenes set in the forest wilds of Washington or Oregon. The fallen trees bare of bark with wild mushrooms growing in their formation with the luster of whimsical bright moss patches & wet ferns grouped everywhere your eye would land. 

I in my Navy wool Pea coat, jeans,boots, fingerless gloves and a thick beanie. He in a thin fleece overcoat, jeans & Army boots. As well as his small black beanie which barely covered his big head & ears.

A moment we both escaped into as though the last 20 some years were all but a distant dream. It started with a simple invitation to see "my woods". To walk the ridge and look for deer tracks. We walked that ridge and ducked under trees which had been bent by the hand of Nature into M's & U's. We held back thorny berry briar's still thriving with powdery hues of purple & white. Snagged our clothes on wild roses bare of their summer petals and leaves, making our approach a combined effort of movement.Their presence forcing you to be patient and slow as though they demanded you soak in and acknowledge the wonders spread before you.

My baby brother Army... Oh how I adore and love him so. I miss our time together. Just him & me as well as Big brother John Boy. When we would spend from the time the sun was rising until well after it had fallen. Out exploring. Building forts, scavenging for "food" and coming up with the most wild imaginative adventures we, as kids, could come up with. This was a day, like a page direct from our childhood story.

We stood atop the ridge, looking down into the deep ravine. Surveying for a movement. Observing the dips and thick logs laid out in our path. Then he saw it. An arrow! Sticking out from the ground. It's quiver a beacon of pink & white. We did not have to speak a word nor did we for a long period here. We both knew what the other was thinking and gladly descended into the belly of our playground. He motioned  we split up. He on the south. I on the north. Scouring the land beneath each branch. Each leaf & pine needle bed. Gently stepping so as not to break the silence with an echo alerting of our presence. One after another were found with alert to the other a simple small whistle and smile of acknowledgment. At one point he had found over 8 which I could not help but motion my hands up and down as though to say "Dang it man!". Both of us smiling with the mindless way we had stepped right back into time without a second thought or hesitation.

 The sky was turning more grey, alerting us to head back to the house before we were caught in a down pour. Not enough time to build a pine branch lean-to, as we may have done those few decades ago. Oh, how I would have loved to do just that. Sit beneath our Pine fort. Listening to the rain beat down on the leaves and watch the world stay alive as we hold on to the moment of a big sister with her little brother escaping into the past ways of their childhood.

It was the most enjoyable afternoon. The most heart filling time I have had the opportunity to share with him in a very long time. The bonds of brother & sister never broken. Never dismissed. Just hidden deep inside to be brought out on occasion as one would a most cherished treasure.

There will be more of these times. I feel that deep in my heart. There may very well come a time we may not be able to descend the ravine and stay out in the cold rain as we had once done. A time when these memories stirred by a simple scent on the wind. A sound through the trees and a knowing twinkle in each others eyes will be just enough to fill us with sibling love. Resurfacing those moments forever etched into our being.

Until next time....